Angela Merkel has reacted with surprise and bemusement to an attempted joke by Donald Trump that suggested one thing they had in common was that they had both been wiretapped by the Obama administration.

After Trump suggested they shared the experience of being covertly monitored by the previous government, the German chancellor couldn’t hide her surprise, narrowing her eyes and wincing before staring at the president with barely disguised astonishment.

Reports of the Obama administration’s spying activities on its allies infuriated Merkel and Germany at the time and risked damaging the US relationship with one of its most important European partners.